Cinderella
by MuslimBarbie
Summary: The tears that fall from her eyes are solely from laughing so hard. She swears. - Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts's very own twisted version of Cinderella and Prince Charming.


**Title:** Cinderella  
**Summary:** _And the tears that fall from her eyes are solely from laughing so hard. She swears_. - Because who would have ever thought that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy would be Hogwarts' very own twisted Cinderella and Prince Charming?  
**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. The song belongs to Trapt.  
**Warnings:** Language, AU post fifth year or something.  
**This piece is a companion to another Draco/Hermione I have written called _Prince Charming_**_. (_**It is not necessary to read one to understand the other, however.)**

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**Ignorance is bliss**

**---**

**i.**

Dumbledore announces that there will be a Halloween Masquerade.

At first Hermione is thrilled. Despite the way it ended, she did enjoy herself the last time there had been a school dance (the Yule Ball in year four). And it is because she all too clearly recalls Ron's temper tantrum at her attending the ball with Viktor, that makes her certain that he will ask her himself this year.

So when he asks Lavender Brown to be his date instead, she is slightly upset. (Alright, she's absolutely furious.) But she is, after all, Hermione Granger and she refuses to let such a thing distract her from what is really important (her education). So she grinds her teeth and pretends that it doesn't bother her in the slightest that Ron still does not even _consider_ her to be his date. Because it doesn't, and she will have a grand enough time without him.

(But in reality, Hermione isn't so sure she will enjoy herself quite so much this year.)

**ii.**

In the end, Hermione and Harry go to the ball together.

Not because they have suddenly developed deep and hidden feelings for each other (or any of other rubbish that everyone else so often seems to believe). Rather, it is because Ron is with Lavender, and because Ginny agrees to go with Dean before Harry even has a chance to ask her. So the two friends try to make the best of it, and settle for each other instead.

It's a brilliant plan, really – catching Ron and Ginny's attention without having to worry about not enjoying themselves, because of a horrid date. It even works! Well, at least partially. Because in the midst of the dance Dean and Ginny have a spat over (probably over something utterly ridiculous like they always do) and break up, leaving Harry to play the hero and swoop Ginny away. (And Hermione is perfectly fine that he is suddenly leaving her without a date.)

Ron, on the other hand, is too caught up in Lavender Brown to even notice Hermione or the fact that she has spent hours preparing to catch his attention once and for all. (Of course the _one time_ she relies on his jealousy of Harry is the one time Ron doesn't bloody well care.) Thus leaving her sitting at a table, watching everyone else have the best night of their year.

(And Hermione incredibly alone and wishing for the night's end.)

**iii.**

It is the moment that she is sure she is going to leave, that he comes to her.

He is dressed in an exquisite set of robes with a golden mask hiding his face. He gives her a smile, one that Hermione can't help but notice is rather overconfident (but somehow still charming in its own way), and holds out a hand to her. (He doesn't speak, yet his simple action seems to say more than words ever could.)

His eyes meet hers and Hermione can't help but feel as if this isn't the first time they have met. Her hand, however, reacts without her consent and takes his. And the next thing she knows, she is letting this (rather dashing) stranger lead her to the dance floor.

(Suddenly getting Ron's attention is the furthest thing from her mind.)

**iv.**

She doesn't know how exactly it happened, but they've escaped from the dance and to the castle grounds.

(Because suddenly, Hermione almost feels like the giggling girls that she so usually despises. Almost.)

He corners her against the wall, pinning his hands on either side of her, trapping her. Before she even has the time to react, his lips are on hers and her hands have found their way into his hair. (And she can no longer remember why she thought the night so horrid.) His mouth moves from hers and finds her neck instead, and a soft gasp escapes her lips. (Because despite how madly absurd and out of character sneaking around like this and snogging a complete and total stranger is for her, Hermione can't begin to regret it, because she can't remember the last time she's felt like this.)

Reality, however, comes crashing down, and the clock begins to chime, signaling the end of the ball. Another (less pleasant) gasp comes from her, because she is supposed to be clearing in the Great Hall and ensuring that everyone is returned to their quarters. (And not sneaking around, snogging the way she is now.) But, somehow, when she hears the chimes, she suddenly recalls the Muggle tale from her childhood. "_Cinderella_."

She shakes her head, feeling rather ridiculous, and, before he has a chance to stop her, Hermione ducks under his arms and escapes his hold on her. She doesn't make it more than a few feet before a voice calls out to her. A voice she could never forget. (A voice that she never thought she would actually hear here.)

"Granger!"

_Malfoy_.

Her feet stumble from beneath her and she pauses, because it's all too clear now and she feels completely daft for not seeing it before. (Or perhaps she had known all along, but had not dared to believe.) Suddenly, it is not something she is running to, but rather _from_.

(And she doesn't dare to look back, too afraid to know the truth.)

**v.**

It isn't until she reaches the Great Hall that she realizes that her badge has vanished.

(And she has a very good idea of where it might have gone to, but doesn't dare to check just yet.) No one seems to notice, however, as almost everyone has cleared away, tired from the night's activities. Still, it takes another hour before she is free from her patrol and able to slip back into the grounds she had so desperately been running from before.

But it is nowhere to be found. Neither is it anywhere in the Great Hall nor the corridors between the two. She returns to her room, hoping to Merlin that she had only forgotten to take it (but already knowing the truth, because she simply does not make mistakes such as these). And it is only when the Head Girl's room has been lost to utter chaos from her search, that Hermione's legs give out beneath her and she collapses into a puddle on the floor.

Because she knows that her _Prince Charming_ has found her lost _glass slipper_. And she can't help but laugh, because who would have ever thought that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy would be Hogwarts' very own twisted Cinderella and Prince Charming? Certainly not Hermione.

(And the tears that fall from her eyes are solely from laughing so hard. She swears.)

**vi.**

It doesn't take long until she sees Malfoy again.

(He does, after all, have this uncanny ability to appear whenever the opportunity to insult Harry or Ron presents itself.) It happens just as they are leaving the Great Hall from breakfast, because it is in that exact moment that he is entering.

He insults Ron, because of something or other he's said. But, for once, Hermione isn't listening – much less trying to calm Ronald down – because she is too focused on Malfoy. He, on the other hand, never once spares her a glance, almost as if he does not realize that she is there. And suddenly, she is wondering if perhaps she was mistaken and it had been some other wizard she had been with.

(But no matter how much she hopes it to be, she already knows the truth.)

It is only once he leaves, that he bumps into her and Hermione feels something being pressed against the palm of her hand. Her fingers tighten around her badge and her eyes meet his. It is only for the slightest of moments (because she never once forgets that Harry and Ron are watching), but it is just enough for some sort of message – some sort of _connection_ – to pass between them.

She tries to focus her attention on Harry and Ron, convincing them to lower their wands and that Malfoy has done no harm to her. It is only when they put their wands away and turn to leave, that she dares to glance to Malfoy, who has left her and taken his place beside Astoria Greengrass in the very Great Hall they had danced together in not twelve hours before.

(And there is absolutely nothing Cinderella can do, but watch as her Prince Charming walks away forever.)

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**I only wish that I'd been blind**  
Curiosity Kills - Trapt

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**Note:** After writing _Prince Charming _(Draco's point of view on this story)_, _I had this urge to write the same story from Hermione's point of view. I think his is better, but as I have already finished this, I thought I would go a head and post it. It's also a little longer than Draco's, but I am going to blame that on Hermione being over analytic. (This style is so hard with her type of character) Also, Hermione feels incredibly off to me (at least in the first half), but I haven't the slightest of how to fix it. So, sorry.

Does this summary work or should I put a summary similar to _Prince Charming_?

**This fic has not been _Brit-picked_.**

Review, please. =]


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